School attendance is a legal mandate across the U.S., yet chronic absenteeism affects 14.7 million students nearly 30% missing 10% or more of the 2021-22 school year (U.S. Department of Education, 2023).
Truancy laws vary by state, but in California, just 3 unexcused absences can trigger a truancy notice (CA Education Code §48260). Nationwide, 72% of states can escalate cases to court after 10-15 unexcused absences, per the National Center for School Engagement. In Texas, 67,000 students faced truancy court in 2019 (Texas Appleseed, 2020).
Missing school impacts achievement, with 9th graders absent 10+ days being 20% less likely to graduate (Attendance Works, 2022). This article explores how many absences lead to court and why it matters. Let’s break it down!
Should You Miss School?
Well, the answer is No, you are not supposed to miss school as this will in the long run add up and result in poor performance. Notwithstanding, missing school is sometimes inevitable, as sometimes there are certain situations that would warrant missing school. Some of these occurrences are sick days, going out for a family vacation, and unexpected days off from school.
But it is not ideal for a child to be absent from school for any reason and if missing school is inevitable then it should be at a minimal level.
How Many Days Of School Can You Miss Before You Have to Go To Court
Firstly, the number of schools that a child can miss before actions can be taken against the guardian is subjective to the school regulations and also the state or even country in which the school is located. Therefore, the number of days varies across different schools, regions, and countries.
For instance, in the state of Maine, the state laws provide for children between the ages of 7 to 17 to be in school while in other states, the law might be quite different from that of Maine. Just like in North Carolina, children between 7 to 16 are to attend school. Obviously, the age ranges differ.
To get the actual answer to the question above, you will have to inquire from the school of your child
Additionally, violation of the child school absenteeism law may result in the parents or guardians of the child and the child having to go to court.
How Many Days of School can You Miss in High School?
There are excused and unexcused reasons you can miss school as a student. The number of days you can miss going to high school depends largely on the state you live in and also the high school you attend. There is no certain or defined number of days you do not go to school and you get into trouble. However, in California for example, if you miss school for 40 days you will not graduate.
Nevertheless, if you are in high school you can go to the school management to make inquiries about excused and unexcused absenteeism from school.
How Many Days of School can You miss In Elementary School?
As a parent, you may want to know how many school days your child can go. In general, most elementary schools define extreme absenteeism or absence from school as a child being 10% absent from the total school year. This translates to 18 days for a school with 180 academic days, however, this is not the case for all schools and states.
Sadly, the adverse effect of missing school is depriving your child of moving up a grade.
What happens If You Miss Too Many Days Of School?
As a student, taking some days off school may seem fun. You get to utilize this time for hangout or even use these off days to play online video games. As good and fun as these things will be, you should also consider the fact that there will be consequences when you miss school for too many days.
As a parent, you are not left out, this is why the school encourages you to follow up on your child’s schooling. Even if the decision to skip school for some days is made solely by the student, both the parent and the student will be made to bear the consequences.
The effect of a child missing too many days of school may result in the child being held back, or going to court.
If the student is held back, it simply means the child will not be advancing forward in class with her current classmates. This can in turn affect the child negatively socially and most likely result in the parent enrolling the child in another school.
On the other hand, as a parent, you will be summoned to court if the following conditions are met:
- The number of times your child has missed school qualifies him/her to be a truant.
- You received several notices from the school of your child’s constant unexcused absenteeism and you know the plan that was developed to correct it.
- Your child lives in the same home as you. i.e. Your child is still under your control.
Possible Court Penalties
The reason for going to court is not as a result of you committing a crime but that of civil violation following the fact that you are saddled with the responsibility of making sure your child attends school.
- Order to go with your child to school.
- The court may ask you to go for counseling.
- you may be asked to go for a class on parental training.
- Pay a fine of up to $250.
- You may be asked to do community service for some time in School.
- You may order to take prompt and effective action to ensure your child goes to school.
FAQS
It may likely tell on your grade and you will be held back.
This varies, depending on the school and the state you are schooling.
Students can only be given the privilege of abstaining from school for just 10 days in the school session for a year.
Conclusion
Finally, It is not advisable for you to miss school as a student as it will adversely affect you in the long run as clearly elucidated above.
Also, as a parent, ensure you do your possible best to follow up on your child’s schooling process daily and always encourage your child to go to school.
Notwithstanding, a child missing school is inevitable but nevertheless, it should be at a very minimal level.
Leave a Reply